Despite beginning her acting career in Canada, Jessica Lucas became a recognizable face to American audiences with roles on "90210" (2008-13) and "Melrose Place" (2009-10), both of which aired on The CW. Lucas's big break in America came in 2008 when she was cast as one of the doomed young adults whose world is upturned overnight when an alien monster invades New York City in "Cloverfield." The J.J. Abrams-produced disaster flick was a sleeper hit at the box office, making over $170 million on a $25 million budget, thus catapulting Lucas and the rest of the seemingly unknown cast into overnight stardom.
For Lucas, this meant landing a significant role in the blood-soaked 2013 remake of Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead."
Born and raised in Vancouver, Lucas began acting at the age of 7. She appeared in local productions of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Grease" before making a conscious decision to land a professional acting agent; at the time, Lucas was 13. She landed her first breakout role on the Canadian teen drama "Edgemont" (CBC, 2001-05) two years later. Lucas appeared on 48 episodes of the show, while simultaneously appearing on various other Canadian television series, such as the children's adventure show "2030 CE" (YTV, 2002).
However, Lucas soon felt limited by the caliber of roles she was being offered in Canada, and in the mid-2000s, she started auditioning for American television shows. In 2004 she landed a small part on the Showtime drama,"The L Word" (2004-09), and from there began appearing exclusively in American films and television. A supporting role in 2006's "She's the Man," which also starred a young Channing Tatum, led to a four-episode recurring role on the popular procedural drama, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15), before she was cast as a doting fiancée in "Cloverfield."
The unexpected success of J.J. Abrams's found-footage creature feature thrust Lucas into the national spotlight, and she soon landed roles on "90210," "Friends With Benefits" (NBC, 2011) and "Cult" (The CW, 2013). However, each of those shows was cancelled after a single season.
In April of 2013, Jessica Lucas starred in the remake of the '80s horror classic, "Evil Dead" (2013). The film received positive reviews, and went on to become number one at the box office during its opening weekend.